Winding machine



G. R. URQUHART 1,963,523

WINDING MACHINE Filed July 21. 1932 Q M'- D 3. J 0 1 U I!) g}.-

I l I I l 1 mm June 19, 1934. e. R. URQUHART 1,963,523

WINDING MACHINE Filed July 21, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 19, 1934 UNITED STATES WINDING MACHINE George R. Urquhart, Providence, R. 1., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Manville Jenckes Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application July 21, 1932, Serial No. 623,739

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to winding machines, and more particularly toimprovements in a mechanism' for supporting and winding thread onto bobbins of a type commonly used in loom shuttles.

In a winding machine of the general type herein disclosed which preferably comprises a number of separate and identical winding units actuated from a single main drive, the bobbinto be wound is mounted on a rapidly rotating spindle, and the thread is guided thereto by means of a thread guide which is mounted on a lengthwise reciprocating traverse barto move back and forth along the bobbin a limited distance, so that an openspiral wind of thread isformed on the bobbin. At the beginning of the winding operation, the thread guide is positioned on the traverse bar, and is controlled to build up adjacent the butt or heel end of the bobbin, a bunch of thread tapered to provide a base for building up the cop along the length of the bobbin. As the thread is built up to a predetermined thickness, the thread guide is gradually advanced on the bar to continue the winding on the tapered end of the thread mass.

In a machine of the class described, the move-- ment of the thread guide along the traverse bar is controlled by means of a traverse disk or wheel Whichis screw-threaded to the bar and is arranged to be engaged by and given a slight rota tion by the rotating thread mass as the thread is built up to the required thickness. When the thread mass has been built up along the length of the bobbin therequired distance, the operation of the spindle and the traverse bar is automatically stopped to discontinue the wind by means of a stop member located in the path of the advancing thread guide. The bobbin is now slipped off over the end. of the spindle, and a new bobbin substituted. 7 V I Ithas been found that in removing the wound bobbins from the machine, there is a tendency for the operator to hit the traverse wheel with the butt end of the bobbin, which frequently causes the traverse wheel to be dented, or nicked, destroying the smooth thread engaging surface .of the wheel, so that the engagement of this nicked or dented portion of the wheel will tend to cut or injure the thread. Inorder, to avoiddamage to the traverse wheel from this cause with a resultant production of inferior bobbins, the present invention contemplates a'constructionand arrangement oftheguide member and'stop mechanism for. each windingv unit which will permit the guide'member andwheel to be moved by the operator, after thels'top mechanism has been actuated, along the reciprocating traverse bar past the stoppingdevice, so that a sufficient clearance is provided to permit the removal of the Wound bobbin without danger of its being brought into contact with the traverse wheel.

With this and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the features of the invention consist in the devices, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby, will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a detail plan view of a thread bobbin winding unit and the driving mechanism therefor, only so much of the machine being shown asis necessary to show the connection of the present'invention therewith; Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation taken on substantially the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end view partly in section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a View similar in many respects to Fig. 3, but with the thread finger raised to its inoperative position.

The winding machine herein disclosed as em-. bodying in a preferred form the several features of the present invention,,comprises a filling winding machine of a well known commercial type adapted for winding loom shuttle fillers or bobbins. This machine comprises a long narrow frame which carries on opposite sides two banks of horizontal winding spindles together with corresponding series of reciprocating traverse bars, thread guides, and the various mechanisms for controlling the operation of the winding machine. A single main driving shaft extending the length of the machine, provides the driving impulse for rotating the spindles, and a rock shaft also extending the length of the machine, provides means for reciprocating the traverse bars.

As best shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, a drive shaft 8 is provided which extends through the length of the machine, being at one end provided with a belt pulley 10 which is connected to drive the machine from any suitable source of power. For imparting the required reciprocating movements to the traverse bars, a rock shaft 12 is mounted in the machine parallel to the driving shaft 8, and at one'end is provided witha crank arm 14 and a cam roll 16 which engages in a cor,- responding cam groove 18 in the periphery of a disk 20. The disk 20 is continuously driven from the drive shaft 8 through connections which comprise a bevel gear 22 on the shaft 8, abevel gear 24 meshing therewith, the: gears 26 and 28, and

a pinion which meshes with a gear 32 formed on the disk 20.

Each bobbin winding unit includes a bobbin Winding spindle 34, a thread guide 36, a traverse bar 38, and a starting and stopping member 40 for the unit as shown in Fig. 1 The spindle 34 is formed on the forward end of a shaft which extends rearwardly through the gear casing 35 and is connected at its rear end through a springpressed clutch member 42 to a spiral gear 44 loosely mounted to turn on the spindle shaft and driven by a corresponding spiral gear on the drive shaft 8. For imparting the required lengthwise reciprocatory movements to the traverse shaft 38, the shaft is connected at its rear end to a rocker arm 46 loosely sleeved on the rock shaft 12, and normally connected to reciprocate therewith through a single tooth clutch 48 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The control rod for starting and stopping the unit, is provided with an offset portion 50 which is arranged to engage with and control the position of the clutch 48 for the traverse bar, and is further provided at its rear end with a cammed surface 52 to engage with a flange 54 on the clutch 42 to control the position of the clutch. A tension spring 56 (see Fig. 1) tends to rotate the control bar 40 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, to maintain the clutches 42 and 48 in open or stopped position.

During the operation of the machine, and while the winding unit is in operation, the offset end of the control rod 40 is held in a depressed position against the pressure of the spring 56 by the engagement of a detent arm 58 on the rod 40 with a recessed portion of a latch lever 60 which is mounted on aivot 62 and is normally held in engagement with the member 58 by means of a small spring 64. The latch lever 60 is moved against the pressure of its spring 64 to disengage the detent member 58 and stop the winding unit by means of a thin lever arm 66 loosely pivoted on the upper end of the latch lever 60, and provided with an upwardly projecting arm 68 which is arranged upon rotation ofthe member 66 about its pivot to come into the path of a block or hammer '70 on the reciprocating traverse bar 38 to drive the member 66 and the latch lever 60 rearwardly to disengage the detent member 58. For stopping the winding unit at the end of the winding operation, there is provided a lengthwise movable stop rod 78 which carries at its inner end a beveled collar or cam 80 which is arranged upon forward movement of the rod at the end of the winding operation as hereinafter described,

to engage with and lift the member 66 into the path of the hammer to throw the stop motion into operation. A thread break protector of ordinary description as indicated at 72 is pivoted at '74 on the machine, and is arranged upon breakage of the thread to swing about its pivot, and through the engagement of the detector 72 with a finger '76 forming a part of the member 66 to rotate the member about its pivot into the path of the hammer '70 to stop the winding unit.

The thread guide 36 is of ordinary construction having a forked base which is loosely sleeved on the traverse bar 38, one arm of the fork being located upon each side of a traverse wheel 82 which has an interior diameter somewhat larger 70' than the traverse bar 38, and is screw-threaded to form a loose nut on the bar which is correspondingly threaded around a portion of its circumference. A spring 84 mounted on the thread guide 36 and arranged to engage with the hub of the wheel 82, tends to hold the wheel against one side of the bar. The parts are arranged so that the thread guide is in its normal operating position as shown for instance in Fig. 3, the traverse wheel 82 is in engagement with the screw threads on the traverse bar 38, thus locking these parts to move together. When the thread guide is raised to the inoperative position shown for instance in Fig. 4, the action of the spring 84 causes the wheel 82 to engage with the smooth portion of the bar 38, so that the thread guide may be readily moved along the length of the bar 38. During the winding operation, the thread guide is reciprocated with the traverse bar 38 to form a spiral wind on the bobbin, and is gradually moved along the length of the bobbin by the rotation of the wheel 82 as it comes occasionally into contact with the rapidly rotating thread mass.

In order to provide an automatic stop for the winding unit when the thread mass on the bobbin has been built up to the required length, it is customary to place a stop on the stop bar '78 which is arranged to come into contact with the advancing thread guide, causing the stop bar 78 to be advanced, throwing the stop motion for the spindle and reciprocating bar into operation as above described. At this time the parts will occupy substantially the position. shown in full.

lines in Fig. 1. The thread guide is now lifted out of operative position by the operator, and the bobbin is drawn off over the end oft-he spindle past the traverse wheel 82, the thread guide and the wheel occupying substantially the position lengthwise of the spindle shown in full lines in Fig. 1. the parts in which the traverse wheel 82' is left in close proximity to the end ofthe spindle and the wound bobbin, has been found to have the disadvantage that in drawing the bobbin oif from the spindle, the traverse wheel 82 tends to engage with and disarrange or break the threads f Moreover, it has been of the wound bobbin. found that the heel of the bobbin indicated at 88 is frequently brought into engagement with the traverse wheel, resulting in denting or nicking the smooth thread engaging surface of the wheel. The imperfections in the thread engaging surfaces of the wheel caused in this manner result in injury to or breakage of the threads as the wheel contacts with the rapidly rotating thread mass in the winding of subsequent bob- 1-- bins.

In carrying out the present invention, a stop mechanism has been provided which enables the operator upon moving the thread guide to its inoperative position as shown in Fig. 4', to move the thread guide past the stop to the end of the reciprocating bar 38, so that ample clearance is provided to enable the operator to remove the bobbin from the machine. To this end a relatively small stop member 90 is provided on the stop bar 78, and a corresponding abutment or flange 92 is secured to the thread guiding member 36, this flange being arranged to extend into the path of the stop 90 when the thread guide 36 is in the operative position shown in Fig. 3, and to move out of the path of the stop member 90 when the thread guide is raised to the inoperative position shown in Fig. 4.

With this construction and arrangement of the thread guide and stop mechanism, the operation of disconnecting the winding unit and removing the bobbin is as follows,Upon the engagement of the flange 92 with the stop member 90 to stop the winding unit at the completion of the winding operation, the operator raises This construction and arrangement of the thread guide to the inoperative position shown in Fig. 4, causing the traverse wheel 82 to be disconnected from the threaded portion of the traverse bar 38, and at the same time causing the flange 92 to be moved out of the path of the stop 90. The thread guideis now moved lengthwise along the traverse bar to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, so that the bobbin may now be withdrawn over the end of the spindle without risk or injury to the thread cop through contact with adjacent portions of the thread guide, and also greatly reducing the risk of injury to the traverse wheel through contact with the butt end 88 of the bobbin.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A winding machine having, in combination, a rotary winding spindle to support a bobbin, thread guiding devices for building up a relatively long mass of thread on the bobbin comprising a traverse bar arranged to reciprocate axially along a line substantially parallel to the spindle, a thread guide supported thereon, a traverse wheel operatively connected with said thread guide and screw-threaded to the traverse bar and rotated byengagement with the thread mass to advance the thread guide on the traverse bar, an abutment on the thread guide, a'stop member actuated by engagement with the abutment on the advancing thread guide, and meansfor relatively positioning said stop member and abutment to permit a free movement of the thread guide and traverse wheel on the traverse bar past said stop member, after said stop member has been actuated, to facilitate the removal of the wound bobbin from the spindle.

2. A winding machine having, in combination, a rotary winding spindle to support a bobbin, thread guiding devices for building up a relatively long mass of thread on the bobbin comprising a traverse bar arranged to reciprocate axially along a line substantially parallel to the spindle, a thread guide pivotally supported on the bar to move from an operative to a raised inoperative position, a traverse wheel operatively connected with said thread guide and screwthreaded to the traverse bar and rotated by engagement of the thread mass to advance the thread guide on the traverse bar, a stop member arranged adjacent the path of the advancing thread guide, an abutment on the thread guide arranged for the operative position of the thread guide to extend into the path of the-stop member, and for the inoperative or raised position to be held out of the path of the stop member to permit a free movement of the thread guide and traverse wheel past said stop member, after said stop member has been actuated, to facilitate the removal of the bobbin from the machine.

3. A winding machine having, in combination, a rotary winding spindle to support a bobbin, thread guiding devices for building up a relatively long thin mass of thread on the bobbin comprising a traverse bar arranged to reciprocate axially along a line substantially parallel to the spindle, a thread guide pivotally supported on the bar to move from an operative to a raised inoperative position, a traverse wheel operatively'connected with said thread guide and screw-threaded to the traverse bar and rotated by engagement of the thread mass to advance the thread guide on the traverse bar, means for disconnecting the thread guide and traverse wheel from operative engagement with the traverse bar upon lifting the thread guide axially out of operating position, a stop member controlled I by said advancing thread guide to stop the winding operation, and an abutment on the thread guide arranged for the operative position of the thread guide to extendinto the path of the stop member, and for the inoperative position of the thread guide to swing clear of the stop member and permit free movement of the thread guide and traverse wheel past the stop member.

4. A winding machine having, in combination, a rotary winding spindle to support a bobbin,

thread guiding devices for building up a relatively long thin mass of thread on the bobbin comprising a traverse bar arranged to reciprocate axially along a line substantially parallel to the spindle, a thread guide pivotally supported on the bar to move from an operative to a raised inoperative position, a traverse wheel operatively connected with said thread guide and screw-threaded to the traverse bar and rotated by engagement of the thread mass to advance the thread guide on the traverse bar, means for disconnecting the thread guide and traverse wheel from operative engagement with the traverse bar upon lifting the thread guide out of operating position, a longitudinally movable stop bar arranged parallel to said traverse bar, a stop member adjustably supported on said bar out of the path of the traverse wheel, and an abutment on the thread guide arranged for the operative position of the thread guide to extend into the path of the stop member, and for the inoperative position of the thread guide to swing clear of the stop member and permit free movement of the thread guide and traverse wheel past the stop member. 

